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CORVALLIS - A twilight farm tour will be held near Stayton on Tuesday, June 15, to showcase the latest strip-tillage vegetable production techniques.

This minimum tillage system uses fall-planted cover crops and offers growers enhanced farm profitability, soil stewardship and water quality protection. The new strip-till equipment will be on hand for a demonstration.

John Luna and Mary Staben, of the Integrated Farming Systems Program at Oregon State University, and Dan McGrath of the OSU Extension Service, will discuss the latest integrated pest management strategies for vegetable growers. Carl Hendricks, Hendricks Farms, and other members of the Willamette Farm Improvement Association (WFIA) will share their experiences with the new equipment, strip-tillage and cover cropping.

The OSU Extension Service, Oregon Department of Agriculture, North Santiam Watershed Council, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Western Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program and WFIA are sponsoring this event. The tour will begin at 6:30 p.m., one mile south of Stayton on Stayton-Scio Road. The event is free and open to the public.

Growers and agricultural professionals including extension agents, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Soil and Water Conservation District field staff, agricultural supply and food processing field representatives and others interested in agriculture are all encouraged to attend. For more information contact Nicole Sandberg at the North Santiam Watershed Council at 503-859-4341 or Mary Staben at 541-737-5437.